maximum possible penalty more at 6:00. >> see you then thank you. >> lester holt is next. breaking news tonight, the number of coronavirus cases surging on tha cruise ship off california 21 people testing positive after a previous passenger died thousands trapped on board. at lax a second screener tested positive. popular south by southwest festival cancels. austin's major declaring a disaster and the first u.s. university closing classrooms students told to take lessons online. also, the u.s. death toll rising. five new states reporting cases and around the world the number exploding to over 100,000 the impact at religious sites.

the vatican reporting its first case. president trump at the cdc. hospitals sounding the alarm about the lack of testing kits. the new reporting, fewer than 2,000 people total in the u.s. tested. on wall street, another wild day the dow plunging again. also tonight, the growing unease about public places. so public transit makes a lot of people nervous. >> usually in close proximity. i'll hold it with a tissue. >> the best defense is to protect yourself from the train to the office and about that warning, don't touch your face. why is it so hard? in the 2020 race bernie sanders changing his game plan going on the attack against joe biden in a critical battleground state. neighbors helping neighbors, coming together after tragedy struck >> announcer: this is "nbc nightly news" with lester holt good evening, everyone while the number of people infected by coronavirus in this country remains relatively small the impact on all of us grows almost daily and so does a gnawing uncertainty over where all this is going.

today as the national death toll climbed off the coast of california, we learned at least 21 people on board a cruise ship are infected and near the american epicenter of the virus in seattle, a major university closing its classrooms while in texas, austin's famous south by southeast festival cancelled as a precaution tonight, we're going to focus on the facts surrounding the disease, about how we can protect ourselves and each other our team is in place and we start with the latest now from nbc's joe fryer. >> reporter: tonight officials say 21 people aboard the "grand princess" cruise ship have tested positive for coronavirus, including 19 crew members. thousands of passengers are quarantined on board off the coast of san francisco waiting for answers out at sea at least ten passengers who were on a previous trip on that same ship have also tested positive for coronavirus, one of them died meanwhile, at the nursing home at the center of washington state's coronavirus outbreak, officials say 15 residents were rushed to the hospital

in a 24-hour period. one resident 89-year-old eileen harrick died yesterday. >> as far as we knew, she wasn't sick. so i was surprised. >> reporter: the official death toll in washington now rising to 12. >> we must prepare this region for the inevitable continued spread of this virus at least in the short run. but we will do everything we can to slow its spread. >> reporter: the outbreak is now prompting a major change at the university of washington which has 50,000 students. nbc's steve patterson is there. >> reporter: starting monday, this campus will be empty. students will stop meeting here for classes, all classes, even exams will happen online after a staffer tested positive for coronavirus. nationwide, five states, indiana, pennsylvania, minnesota, kentucky and oklahoma reported their first cases today. los angeles a second medical screener at lax has now tested

positive while in chicago a 21-year-ol college student has the virus after visiting italy. >> just very mild symptoms like runny nose, headache, you know, cough, difficulty breathing but no high fever. >> reporter: in new york state, 22 new cases today and 4,000 protectively quarantined with new york city officials now pleading for more test kits telling the federal government limited capacity has impeded our ability to beat back this epidemic there is also growing worry among health care workers a california nurse released a statement saying, i am currently sick and in quarantine after caring for a patient who tested positive but she's struggling to get tested other nurses worry their hospitals are not prepared >> their employers don't have the basic and necessary measures in place to protect nurses and other health care workers. >> reporter: back at the nursing home in washington, the quarantine is keeping couples like the campbells apart married more than 60 years separated by glass unable to touch.

as for the cruise ship, officials have developed a plan that will start this weekend. the ship will go to a non-commercial port. all passengers and crew will be tested. those who need to be quarantined will be quarantined. those who need medical attention, will get it, lester. >> joe fryer starting us off, thank you. in texas the major headline tonight, the cancellation of the world famous south by southwest festival just the latest big event to be put off as cities face the difficult choice of large gathering of people. we get more from nbc's tom costello >> reporter: tonight a devastating blow to austin's economy as the city declares a disaster and cancelled this year's south by southwest festival that would have brought half a million attendees and hurricaneses of millions of dollars. >> the coronavirus threat is growing across the united states and that threat is growing locally. >> reporter: the move came after dozens of big-name sponsors pulled out meanwhile toda

miami is cancelling festivals with a million visitors. >> this decision is not a cause for alarm or panic >> reporter: the cdc says organizers may need to modify, postpone or cancel large events already european soccer games are being played without fans. college basketball games cancelled and northwestern university cancelled the dance marathon that raises money for charity. >> not seeing that come to fruition is -- it really breaks my heart. >> reporter: health leaders say it's a tough call. >> this is a virus, tom, that can spread widely in the population, and if it does that, it will cause an awful lot of serious illness. >> reporter: the indian wells tennis tournament, l.a. marathon and march madness are all still on but "the new york times" reports on early conversations involving sports federations and the w.h.o. about whether the summer olympics

might need to be held without spectators tokyo 2020 continue as planned. while younger people don't seem to be at as much risk, they could pass the virus on to somebody vulnerable making every large gathering a potential concern. lester >> everyone struggling to find the right balance. all right. tom, thank you. as we've seen all week, american businesses taking a big hit from the coronavirus. stocks tumbling yet again today with the dow losing another 256 points many stores reeling, as well. we get the latest on all that from nbc's jo ling kent. >> reporter: from wall street to main street, the coronavirus is slamming the economy small businesses like rachel ginger beer are in crisis mode. >> this is just potentially absolutely devastating. >> reporter: located in the shadow of amazon headquarters in seattle, owner rachel marshall says her store has lost thousands of customers overnight. because amazon and other big tech companies have asked their employees to work from home. >> our employees are our number one

priority, and if they can't work, they can't make money so am i dipping into my family's savings account to pay our employees? >> reporter: at kip's toyland, the oldest toy store in los angeles, their inventory is tightening after cargo ships from china aren't setting out to sea. what's the impact? >> good question things are beginning to slow down hopefully we'll be able to sustain ourselves until the supply chain is filled again. >> reporter: as unease grows about job security, many workers are wondering if they get paid if they'r forced to stay home because of coronavirus. u.s. federal law does not guarantee sick leave. less than 60% of blue collar workers get paid time off. we're tacking about ride share drivers, cashiers and servers some say they're scared of catching the virus because they work face-to-face with customers and don't have the option of working from home. lester. >> all right jo ling kent, thank you.

with anxiety growing across the country, president trump visited the cdc late today while his administration's response is coming under scrutiny over a lack of testing kits across the country we get more now from hallie jackson. >> reporter: president trump at the center of the coronavirus response today visiting the cdc the off again/on again trip happening only after a cdc staffer suspected after having the coronavirus tested negative according to the president. at first the white house said the president didn't want to interfere with the cdc mission. >> anybody that needs a test, gets a test. they are there they have the test and the tests are beautiful. and the tests are all perfect, like the letter was perfect the transcription was perfect. >> reporter: a trempbs to the ukraine call at the center of the impeachment even a state and local officials have criticized administration for a sluggish ramp up to get coronavirus tests to those who need them the vice president

late tonight announcing the u.s. sent out 900,000 tests this week with 200,000 more set to be shipped tomorrow, short of the 1.5 million he initially projected. >> next week we'll keep ramping up production as many as 4 million tests next week will be driving forward. >> reporter: an investigation by "the atlantic" found only about 1, 900 people have been tested the government's top doctors critical. >> i'm not happy about the lack of the appropriate number of test kits, that's for sure, but other areas of the response are going well. >> reporter: for the cruise ship passengers, president trump say he'd rather they stay on board the ship but he says he gave his team the authority to make that ultimate decision. lester >> hallie jackson at the white house, thank you. beyond this country's efforts to keep it contained are greatly expanding. with more than 100,000 cases reported worldwide. our richard engel reports. >> reporter: global containment has begun to slow the spread of

the new coronavirus by limiting human contact. religious sites are a major focus. bethlehem's church of the nativity where christian faithful believe christ was born is closed members of a church group from alabama quarantined at a nearby hotel >> if we walk out of our room, we have to have a mask and gloves on all that good stuff. there is very little leaving the room. >> reporter: with the first case detected at the vatican today, questions of whether easter mass will go ahead at st. peters square. the grand mosque is infected in iran, all friday prayers were cancelled. the islamic republic is threatening to use force against those who violate travel restrxs. as airports around the globe emptied out and scrubbed down, lufthansa announced today it's cut kag

pastie up to 50% at the world health organization in geneva, a reality check. will coronavirus disappear in the warm summer months? >> it's a false hope to say, yes, it will just disappear in the summertime like influenza. >> reporter: in singapore where researchers are highly confident they have traced the origin of the virus to bats. doctors say they are working to defeat it will we have to start quarantining people around the world and telling people to stay in their homes >> i think in the initial phase is, yes. for this problem the world has to work together or otherwise we're toast. >> richard engel, nbc news >> there is much more from richard in his special report "on assignment" sunday night at 10:00 eastern on msnbc. we'll be back in 60 seconds and i set out with a virus expert to explore the best ways to protect yourself, separating fact from fiction. then the question we're all thinking about, how to stop touching your face about, how to stop touching your face. well...you said you wanted a new chair.

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coronavirus can sound alarming but there are things we can all be doing now to protect ourselves as i learned during an afternoon with a leader in the fight against emerging diseases joseph fair, a virologist and epidemiologist who has worked on the fron lines of the ebola outbreak in africa, believes facts may be our best defense against the coronavirus. let me ask you this, is covid-19 in the air? if i take a deep breathe, did i potentially take a deep breathe of the virus? >> especially not outside. we're sitting out in sunlight, the uv light inactivate it is virus. >> so around these people i'm relatively safe >> absolutely. you need to come in direct contact with somebody coughing and sneezing and those droplets landing on your face and nose and mouth or you touched a surface and you touch your face, nose, eyes or mouth. >> reporter: with that in mind, we set out to explore how best t

protect ourselves from the virus. public transit makes a lot of people nervous. these cars move. there is not a seat >> usually in close proximity. i'll hold it with a tissue if i don't have a tissue with me, i'll do an arm hold like this just keep my skin from contacting it. >> but, you know, this idea of being six feet away from people, that's not going to happen on a train. >> not going to happen here that's why it's up to the individual to cover your mouth or nose if you cough or sneeze with your sleeve ideally. we know from studies of san francisco's metro, a lot of anti bacterial stuff lasts for a long time. >> reporter: next, we headed to the office i think it's probably fair to say millions of americans work in environments sitting six, seven feet apart. what should we be conscious of and aware of at this time? >> we know just from slow-motion video of coughing or sneezing your average sneeze or cough can expel droplets three to six feet, which is you're average office space distance from your

other employees. ideally, you'll have tissue or hand sanitizer next to you, you'll be able to reach quickly, grab a tissue use it to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze. immediately dispose of it. >> don't put it on the desk? >> don't put it on the desk. >> and routinely disinfectant your personal workspace, he says. >> everything here would be a surface that can carry an infectious virus for up to nine days in a case of coronavirus. >> so i sneeze, i wipe my nose, i pick up the phone, it's there. >> yes absolutely because this is really one of the filthiest areas, including that cell phone it's really one of your dirtiest areas. so i wipe down everything all the keys, et cetera take my phone, wipe it down. >> reporter: another helpful tip, create a barrier between yourself and surfaces we commonly touch. touch like elevator buttons. >> tissues are not always going to be with you or practical. so sometimes - i always carry a pen. >> a pen. >> touch it with a pen.

>> reporter: the most powerful tool to fight coronavirus is soap. lastly, no more handshakes we'll leave it with an elbow bump. >> sounds good. >> joseph fair who we're pleased to have as our new science contributor, he reminds us we're only as strong as our weakest link reminding us we all need to adopt the measures. now let's be honest, despite the repeated advice we have been hearing to keep your hands away from your face is much easier said than done stephanie gosk tonight on how to break the habit. >> reporter: be warned for do as i say, not working o as i do goes to -- >> start working on not touching your face. >> reporter: all those officials telling us not to touch our faces. >> working hard not to touch your face. >> reporter: while touching theirs. the president even joining in with a joke. >> i haven't touched my face in weeks in weeks i miss it. >> reporter: this photo taken two days before to be fair, everyone touches their face nearly two dozen times an hour by one estimate a habit not easily broken.

>> every time we touch our face there is a risk of whatever is on our hands can get in our nose, mouth and eyes. >> reporter: what's called the t-zone. to see how difficult this is i'm going to try just for an hour not to touch my face 13 times less than average but trying how do you break a habit you're not aware of >> it's a really hard thing to do and the first step is try to be aware of it are we having allergies and rubbing our noses all the time are we having dry eyes and we're rubbing our eyes all the time? >> reporter: some basic tips, a box of tissues, use one if you have an itch try to occupy your hands, a clean stress ball could work. use a hands-free cell phone. and the best strategy, clean hands, just keep washing them stephanie gosk, nbc news, new york. >> a hands-free news cast coming up, the next big battle for joe biden and bernie sandersfor

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bernie sanders is stepping up attacks on joe biden and changing up his game plan with the next round of primaries days away. here is kristen welker >> reporter: tonight with the next round of primaries just days away the battle for delegate-rich michigan is intensifying. today bernie sanders really sharpening his attacks against biden. >> biden has been on the floor of the senate in years past calling for cuts to

social security, medicare, medicaid and veterans' programs. >> reporter: sanders made similar comments last night prompting this fiery response from biden, the only person who is going to cut social security if he's elected is donald trump. biden has denied he ever supported cuts to social security though at one point he did favor trimming the deficit, which could have frozen some spending for the program. the bitter back and forth comes as both candidates are trying to win elizabeth warren's support warren told rachel maddow she's not ready to endorse anyone yet but sharply criticizing some sanders' supporters for online attacks >> we are responsible for the people who claim to be our supporters, and do really threatening ugly, dangerous things. >> reporter: for sanders who is trailing biden, michigan is critical in fact, he cancelled an event in mississippi to get to michigan sooner, a sign of a shifting strategy really focussing on the midwest after a poor

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be in your moment. ask your doctor about ibrance. cases throughout the bay area and we are tracking them next at 6:00. in a crisis, every second counts. house a tech giant is helping people in the bay area get help faster next at 6:00. finally tonight, the community coming together and inspiring america after disaster struck in tennessee. here is sam brock. >> reporter: tonight, a national spotlight on tennessee. >> just great people it's a great state. >> reporter: president

trump there consoling communities grieving the loss of 24 lives providing federal aid. this week deadly twisters levelled 60 miles of land. now a fresh reminder this is the volunteer state. it's only 10:00 in the morning and look how many people are lined up down the block in one neighborhood and this is just the beginning. storm survivor nikki is grateful. volunteers from near and far. >> realizing these are people's lives. >> reporter: a cavalry of help lifting up nashville. what brings you out? >> we want to help people get their lives all back turned around >> reporter: from the tennessee titans on the debris field to telethons with major reporting superstar, a beautiful sensation in the music city human harmony. what's the most uplifting thing you've seen >> all these people out here doing their

very level best to help everybody in this community to get back to some semblance of normalcy >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news, nashville. pretty amazing that's "nbc nightly news" for this friday. thank you for watching and good night >> reporter: sam brock, nbc news, nashville. pretty amazing. that's "nbc nightly news." thank you for watching and good night. right now at 6, protecting renters curing the coronavirus outbreak. south bay city takes action. as the virus spreads, a hospital could shut down in the bay area. we're live with the push to save it. first, confirmed coronavirus cas cases on board a cruise ship off our coast. passengers tell us why they are frustrated by that announcement. the news at 6 starts right now. they are still stuck on that

ship, but at least they know the situation. breaking news from the grand princess cruise ship which is sitting right off of our coast. let's go straight to janelle wang for the latest. >> jessica, late today the vice president mike pence announced test results for people on board the grand princess. it's about 50 miles off the coast of san mateo county. now, we know 46 people were tested on board that ship. now, 21 people tested positive. those results just announced this afternoon. they are 19 crew members and two passengers. now, everyone on that ship, according to the vice president, will be tested, and pence said when the ship docks it will be brought to a non-commercial port, not pier 27 where it sailed off from. that's when the thousands on board will be tested. live along the embarcadero in san francisco. jody, we heard this announcement f before cruise passengers did? >> reporter: many of the passengers did watch it on tv with the rest of